Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here by Mark Edmundson

        In this essay, Dr. Mark Edmundson discusses the major drawbacks of higher education and proposes a way for students to have fulfilling careers through following their passion. Dr. Edmundson is an established writer, and an English professor at the University of Virginia. He has won several awards for writing and this essay in particular, has been published in the Oxford American literary journal. Being a professor, Edmundson directs his essay towards incoming students as to show how to get the most out of a college education. Edmundson observes, “To everyone, university education is a means to an end. For students that end is a job”(91) and while seeing this, Edmundson says, “They have it wrong”(91). Rather than using college as a stepping-stone towards getting a high-paying job and a life with “A driveway of your own”(95), Edmundson asserts that the real value of college education is, “Finding out what form of work for you is close to being play”(100). Edmundson starts the essay in the second person to get the effect of talking directly to the reader. He uses this strategy to break down the barrier between the author and reader and by doing so the essay is more approachable. Also, instead of saying his claim, Edmundson poses questions to the reader such as, “Why make trouble”(95) and “Doesn’t the content of the courses matter at all”(94) as to make the reader feel more involved. Edmundson later discusses Emerson and Freud, two famous writers that convinced him that challenging everything was more rewarding than conforming to societal needs. By working in these two prominent figures, Edmundson further substantiates his claim. Later, Edmundson talks about his father’s dissatisfying career. This anecdote serves to make the essay’s point that by doing what society wants; you will end up like Edmundson’s father. Overall, I think the essay was very well written to the point where I agreed with what Edmundson was saying. His authoritative tone, stories, insights, and use of prominent figures convinced me that Edmundson is very intellectual and correct in his claims.

Student Affairs Cartoon! By Oullette (2010)

What will happen if we continue to conform with society and fail to question everything